This week’s Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair will have over 135 exhibitors, with five new to our Battersea, London fair:

from Jenna Burlingham Fine Art : Leonard Appelbee (British, 1914 – 2000), Landscape at Orovide, Var, 1951

Sue Killinger from Great Missenden, Bucks, who is well known on the antique fairs circuit but makes her first ever appearance at Battersea, with a pleasing mix of smaller antique furniture and antique accessories.
Jenna Burlingham Fine Art (with a gallery in Kingsclere, Hants) specialises in 20^th Century British paintings, sculpture, prints and ceramics as well as work by selected contemporary artists. “We aim to make the art world more accessible by providing friendly, expert advice and guidance.”  They feature many established modern British names with proven market records as well as carefully selected emerging artists working in the Modern British tradition and whom Jenna believes “have future potential”.  A wide variety of art across the £500 to £30,000 price range, as well as a selection of paintings, prints and ceramics under £500.
James Holiday from Hook Norton, Oxon, still enjoys a strong export business to the USA (his father and brother are based there as antiques dealers); his stock of antiques is mixed Continental and British with a wide range of smaller accessories and pictures too. Amongst highlights on his stand will be a North Italian red tortoiseshell cabinet on stand with brass and marble inlay circa 1740. In great condition it is fitted with drawers and a central cupboard.
Ted Wolter is an American dealer now based in Paris.  His stock is period Continental and English antiques, plus a more modern inventory, including pieces by Kjaerholm, Fabricius and other Scandinavians as well as paintings, drawings and sculpture with a more contemporary feel.
Simply Antiques, from Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, bring a new aspect to the Decorative Fair with a delightful selection of highly collectable C18th and C19th card cases (a very elegant way to carry one’s business cards) and other objets vertu (beautifully decorated smaller items such as boxes, picture frames etc in precious metal, shagreen, tortoiseshell and the like).

Shown above: from Jenna Burlingham Fine Art : Leonard Appelbee (British, 1914 – 2000), Landscape at Orovide, Var, 1951. Signed and dated. Oil on canvas. 25 1/4 x 30 1/4 in (64 x 76.7 cm).

Colour & Texture at The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair

While the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair is on and we’re there NOW, we’ve spotted a couple of really cheerful stands full of colourful textiles. This one (above) is Molly Hogg, who has a superb collection of textiles from around the globe.

Rob Blacks (right) stand is full of beautifully-upholstered chairs and sofas, using antique and vintage textiles. He has enjoyed a number of sales on opening day and since, but has a good supply still available.

Hurry hurry… ]]> http://www.decorativefair.com/antiquesinteriordesigndiary/index.php/2011/10/colourful-dealers-colourful-textiles-colourful-stands-colourful-antique-fair/feed/ 0 http://www.decorativefair.com/antiquesinteriordesigndiary/index.php/2011/09/decorative-antiques-fairs-festival-of-britain/ http://www.decorativefair.com/antiquesinteriordesigndiary/index.php/2011/09/decorative-antiques-fairs-festival-of-britain/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:30:50 +0000 London Antiques Fair Diarist http://www.decorativefair.com/antiquesinteriordesigndiary/?p=2553 Festival Of Britain Spritual Home In Battersea For Antiques Fair

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Board of Trade believed that design would lead the economic recovery for Britain and thus germinated the idea for the Festival of Britain.

This Autumn’s Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair, whose Battersea Park venue is on one of the original sites of the Festival of Britain, is featuring in its foyer display the best of British design from 1951 to 1961, with stock drawn from some of the C20th dealers at the antiques fair.

Items of note will include several original pieces from the 1951 Festival of Britain such as:  the Maquette commissioned for the Festival of Britain – “Root Bodied Forth” designed by Mitzi Solomon (also known for designing the famous Bafta Maquette) displayed at the entrance to the Festival (shown above left); a Garden chair by AJ Milne designed for the terrace; a vellum table with the festival star ~ designed by Abram Games c. 1951 ~ provenance; estate of Sir Robert Matthews, the architect of the Festival Hall) (shown above right); a Festival of Britain lamp (as shown on the left).

Other key items for sale will include important pieces from designers such as Gordon Russell (see the walnut and mahogany sideboard ~ right); Ernest Race (see the Gold Medal winner, 1954 Milan Triennial Fair Ernest Race BA3 Chair, below right); Lucienne Day; Archie Shine (see the elegant rosewood drum table, designed by Robert Heritage in 1959 for Archie Shine, left)  and Howard Keith.

Have you been yet to the Decorative Antiques & Ttextiles Fair?  Open until and including Sunday this week.

Don’t forget that courtesy transport to the Battersea Park venue is available from in front of the Sloane Sq. Hotel.  We hope to see you there this week.

We’re open any minute at the London antiques and decorative arts extravaganza this morning ~ otherwise known to the world as The Decorative Fair! Please come along to see us and our 130 exhibiting dealers. You can see the whole list of exhibitors at this Decorative Antiques & textiles Fair here.

Meanwhile here is one such: Hamptons Antiques have done our fairs a number of times over the years. We love their choice selection of collectable tea caddies and boxes, all of which make excellent decorative items.

This exceptional Anglo-Indian Vizagapatam sewing box (top left), inlaid with engraved bone and radiated starburst top, dates from around 1820 – it has a typical Regency shape. The coastal Indian city of Vizagapatam was a major trading port in the 18th and 19th centuries and this style of decorative inlay, made in India and exported to the UK & Europe, has become synonymous with the local region.

Hamptons also bring a lovely tea caddy, which was recently featured in the BBC2 quiz, Antiques Master (above right). In the shape of an urn, this too is Regency, dating from around 1820, and was made in the Spa Town of Ischl in Austria.

Drew Pritchard joins the Decorative Antique Fair from Conwy in Wales, with a pleasing variety of architectural, garden, decorative & country house antiques.

The photo Drew has sent us of gives a good idea of the slightly quirky look and of the mix of stock he will bring to the event.  It shows a Swedish chair, a 19th Century terracotta mastiff, and an industrial light.

So we thought that we would take a few pics of our ‘favourite  things’ at the fair… First up is Sue in the Decorative fair’s organiser’s office who has selected the below items as her favourites from the Spring antiques fair.

Sue is a lovely lady but is not a professional photographer ~ we’ve done our best with her photos… Take it from us they all looked even better at the fair.

Above on the left is a rare hunt sampler shown by Martin Murray. It’s very old (circa 1780s) and was sewn by a 9 year old girl, illustrating letters and pictures.

On the right are some bird pictures as shown by Natalie Morgan-Davies ~ a beautiful collection of pictures which complement each other in style and size.

On the left are some white vases on the Justin @ Magus stand. Individually or as a group these vases would be even more beautiful with flowers of any colour or shape.

And lastly we see some balloon lamps from Le Style. Quite stunningly quirky and imaginative yet practical.  I’d like to see them lit up.

Not Always What You Expect...

After two exceptionally well-attended Winter & Spring Decorative Fairs at Battersea Park this year saw sales successes in most areas across the board… In terms of furniture trends, it was “pale and interesting” in the traditional areas ~ and C20th modern design pieces that caught the eye of the buying customers.

The decorating trade were in evidence at both fairs and many dealers sold to overseas customers, some ex-pat and some here especially to visit our antique fair.  Sales of C20th stock proved extremely buoyant, from larger furniture items to lighting and works of art, especially dating from the 1940s to the 1970s.  All specialist dealers in this area reported very strong sales. 

Traditional stock with the ‘decorative fair’ look, from painted to natural finishes, have proved highly successful for many dealers in this field; a couple of Continental exhibitors had to completely re-stock (going to France and back overnight!), and several others practically sold out. 

Bigger items such as glazed display cabinets, open bookcases and large (especially refectory) tables still proved a hit at this Fair, a trend in evidence since April 2010.  On opening days in January and in May, many dealers reported that customers, especially decorators, were decisive and urgently buying. 

And Classics That You Would Expect

Jeanette Hayhurst, a respected glass specialist who exhibited for the first time this January, said:  “Other fair organisers would die for the sort of upwardly mobile, under 40’s with cheque books at the ready that The Decorative Fair attracts in great numbers.  It was a lovely, friendly atmosphere and I definitely want to come back.” We couldn’t have said better ourselves. You can see examples of the glass pieces here at Jeanette’s website.

The  winning point of difference at the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair is the variety, the quality and the unexpected.

Come to the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in London’s Battersea May 3-8th 2011 and you can see another of our previous & experienced exhibitors. Jonathan Swire was one of the dealers who first brought fossils as ’sculpture’ to the Decorative Fair.  These have become very popular as decorative items for rooms mixing old and new, just as Jonathan does with his space at the Decorative Antique Fair as you can see pictured below, right.

We don’t know if this will be at the Decorative Fair but the picture on the left shows an example of what Jonathon has in store for us. It’s an Orthoceras Spear which is 380 million years old. Found in The Western Sahara Desert, South Eastern Morocco, this fossil is about 2 metres tall. And I rather like the look of it.

Jonathon says he’s ”very pleased to be able to offer a superb range of fossils, natural sculptures pulled from the earth and lovingly worked upon by skilled craftsmen”. We hope to see a small sample of the sort of fossils he has in stock at the Decorative Fair. Each fossil is different, colours vary as do sizes. If you are interested in a particular type of fossil, or would like them to search for a special type of fossil, then ask Jonathon at the fair.

Amongst other collectables and beautifuls he also has lighting and decorative pieces, 20th Century furniture and industrial furniture, mirrors and ohter antique furniture.

Though we have those of course… and more at the Battersea Park, Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair

But to change the pace and to continue in our tradition of being new, interesting and diverse, we have new exhibitors and new antique categories too.  This coming May (3rd may to 8th May 2011) we have new exhibitor M.Goldstein, one of the new breed of vintage, antiques, art and ephemera shops that are becoming more vogue-ish with the design cognoscenti.

M.Goldstein is a shop near London’s famous Columbia Road Market.  Run by Nathaniel Lee Jones, who has worked in the antiques industry for some time, and stylist and DJ Pippa Brooks, they describe their business as “a shop/showroom/installation/idea/work-in-progress. It can be any one or all of the above at any given time. The interior is constantly changing and evolving so that from week to week the look and stock on offer can be totally different.”  It all sounds good (and the press like them) and their website is worth a look!

Some of the very unusual and eye-catching decorative works of art they will be bringing to the Fair include a 19th Century automaton, Victorian garden furniture, ‘magic’ mirrors and an early 20th Century British constructivist painted banner. They will also have a pair of rare WW2 Avro Anson seats alongside a scarce French miniature bourgeois interior diorama.  Definitely what we would call an eclectic mix!

Pictured here are [1] the miniature French ‘borgeois’ interior diorama (left) and [2] a fascinating scene with Napoleonic Soldiers on original ‘grandstand’, c. 1900 (right).  The Grandstand measures 56 cm wide x 45 cm deep x 28 cm height. Nine Figures (with hand-painted wax faces, with handmade costumes, weapons and regalia) measure 21 cm in height each.

For other exhibitors see Decorative Antiques & Tetxiles Fair Exhibitors here.

Both Yew Tree Antiques and Fontaine (as pictured) are very clever at finding unusual garden ornaments and accessories, which can be used in exterior or interior settings – though each with a different style…

For a full list of exhibitors, check the Decorative fair main site.